Magic Circle Partner Rates At All-Time High, Report Says

By Andrew Strickler

Law360, New York (November 26, 2013, 6:10 PM ET) -- The United Kingdom’s top-tier firms are breaking hourly rate records despite lingering recession conditions across much of the industry, according to a report released Tuesday.

A survey of partner rates at the top-of-market London-based firms — Allen & Overy LLP, Clifford Chance LLP, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Linklaters LLP, and Slaughter and May — found hourly prices this year reaching as high as £850 ($1,380), according to figures compiled by London-based consultant and legal costs specialist Jim Diamond.